xii, 323 pages ; 24 cm

"Melvin Urofsky, one of our nation's most respected legal historians, takes a fresh look at efforts to rein in campaign spending and counter efforts in the courts to preserve the status quo. He offers a thoughtful and balanced overview of campaign finance reform and the legal responses to it, from the Progressive era through the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in McConnell v. FEC (2003) and its impact on the 2004 election." "Urofsky focuses especially on the 1971 Federal Election Campaign Act and the 2002 McCain-Feingold or Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) and on challenges to both in the Supreme Court." "Ironically, despite the Court's decision upholding McCain-Feingold, the 2004 presidential election was the most expensive in history - because, as Urofsky notes, money is the mother's milk of politics and both candidates and donors will always find ways to keep it flowing. His book provides an excellent and succinct guide to the controversies and historical debates emerging from that fact."--Jacket

Includes bibliographical references (pages 279-309) and index

Campaign Finance Reform -- Campaign Finance Reform before 1971 -- Reform and Response: The Federal Election Campaign Act and Buckley -- The Failure of Campaign Finance Reform after 1976 -- The Road to McCain-Feingold -- The Courts and the First Amendment -- The Supreme Court and Elections: From Buckley to McConnell -- Getting the Ducks in a Row: Briefing the District Court -- Interlude: Confusion in the District Court -- The Supreme Court Decides -- Epilogue: McCain-Feingold-Requiescat in Pace

committed to retain 20160630

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